Matzo Balls And Disco Balls: Pairing Great GoogaMooga’s Food And Music Offerings

May 18, 2012

This weekend Prospect Park will host Great GoogaMooga, a festival that brings together some of New York’s best restaurants and musicians from New York (disco technicians Escort; bouncy Brooklyn rockers Fort Lean) and outside the city (Saturday’s headlined by the hip-hop polyglots The Roots, while Sunday will be closed out by Daryl Hall & John Oates). How should you plan your day so that your foodstuffs are well matched to the on-stage entertainment? Here’s the Sound of the City/Fork in the Road guide to suggested pairings for this weekend.

MAY 1912:15 p.m.: Fort Lean
“Lean” is a great word for a band name, but not as a descriptor of one’s lunch. Perhaps this anthemic Brooklyn band should be paired with the offerings from Dumont, which specializes in thick, juicy burgers. (Here’s hoping the bistro will serve up their fried bread-and-butter pickles and donuts, too!)

5:00 p.m.: Holy Ghost!
OK, there’s no sonic connection here, but every New Yorker knows that a wild dance party—and the sweaty boozing that goes along with it—should be preceded by a cheesy slice. Hit up South Brooklyn Pizza, which specializes in thin-crusted ‘za and chocolate chip cookies.

4:00 p.m.: Unchained, The Mighty Van Halen Tribute
What’s almost as inherent badass as rock? Meat pie. From Quebec. With almost as complicated a history as Van Halen, M. Wells might not have a shop at the moment, but its legacy lives on in its tourtiere and other delish delicacies.

6:45 p.m.: The Roots
Jimmy Fallon’s house band is known for cramming funk, soul, hip-hop, and all other sorts of music into their sweaty live shows. Pair their high-energy set with a milkshake and a slice of cake from Momofuku Milk Bar, which has been known to serve up alcoholic versions of the ice-creamy beverage.

MAY 2011:45 a.m.: Lucius
So you actually made it to a before-noon show after being at the festival Saturday! Impressive. What is not impressive, however, is the hangover you might also have. Hit up Juice Press and hydrate.

1:15 p.m.: We Barbarians
The thing about barbarians: They seem like they would feast on large hunks of meat, like comically sized drumsticks from The Flintstones. Why not get in the spirit with any of the fest’s barbecue offerings?

2:15 p.m.: Escort
Do matzo balls and disco balls go together? Who knows? But Kutscher’s Tribeca is said to sell some of the best in the city.

3:00 p.m.: Peelander-Z
An act that bills itself as Japanese comic punk is fun. You need a fun food to go along with it—something that’s not too heavy, and probably something that you can eat with your hands. Enter Calexico and their tacos and burritos.

6:00 p.m.: Daryl Hall and John Oates
The stuffed-to-the-gills steamed buns from Baohaus will provide just the right amount of energy to go along with Philadelphia’s most famous smoothed-out-soul duo.

7:00 p.m. (Extra Mooga): Big Gay Ice Cream Disco Party with DJ Hesta Prynn
Not to sound too obvious, but the party’s eponymous ice creamery is probably the most appropriate pick, both for synergistic purposes and as a way to cool down after a long, hot weekend.